Seismic testing will soon be conducted in the New Plymouth area as the next step to discovering and extracting natural gas in western Idaho.

Rod McLeod, a geologist from Gulf Coast Permit Services hired by Snake River Oil and Gas, which is currently collecting leases for mineral rights in the area, presented in front of the Payette County Commissioners Tuesday about his plans for testing for natural gas in the area.

In his presentation, McLeod said he plans to use a seismic test to make a “picture” of the Earth’s subsurface.  The test will be used to create a virtual 3D photo of what is underneath to show where natural gas is likely to be.

Read more: Seismic Testing Will Identify Natural Gas

(By Cherise Kaechele, The Argus Observer, Ontario, Oregon)

BOISE – The new owners of natural gas wells in western Idaho plan to spend more and drill more to find more gas in the state.

“This is exciting news for Idaho,” Snake River Oil and Gas President Richard Brown told the Idaho Statesman in a story published Saturday.  “This acquisition of the productive wells and the thousands of associated leased acres means we can expand our oil and gas exploration program, drill more wells, and bring major investments to the region and the state.”

The company is partnering with AM Idaho LLC, a subsidiary of Texas-based Alta Mesa Holdings.

The companies recently purchased the Idaho gas wells from Bridge Resources Corporation and its partner, Paramax Resources Ltd.  Those companies in 2010 produced what appear to be commercially viable natural gas wells after drilling 11 wells in Payette County.

The new owners plan to use advanced technology that allows geologic mapping of the region to find more natural gas. Continue reading →

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho ― Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter signed the bill restricting local control over the natural gas industry, putting the finishing touches to a measure that launched the Senate’s ethics investigation into Senator Monty Pearce.  The law, HB 464, went into effect Friday, forbidding local governments from enacting ordinances to prohibit gas drilling.  From now on, Idaho cities and counties can’t require exploration companies to secure conditional use permits for their projects.  Though the bill cleared the House and Senate on wide margins, it created a sensation in the 2012 Legislature when Democrats accused Pearce of not disclosing a conflict of interest.  Pearce has leased land to Snake River Oil and Gas, the company behind the bill.  He didn’t disclose his leases publicly until the final vote.  Wednesday, the Senate Ethics Committee dismissed the complaint.

(By Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise, The Spokesman Review)

On Monday, March 19, in Weiser, and on Tuesday, March 20, in Fruitland, the Idaho Organizing Project of the Western Organization of Resource Councils and Oregon Rural Action hosted guest speaker John Fenton of Pavillion, Wyoming, the rancher and chair of the Pavillion Area Concerned Citizens featured in the Gasland documentary.  Throughout two informative evenings of free, public presentations, John talked about his and his neighbors’ personal experiences and their direct struggles against the negative aspects of living in the middle of oil and gas fracking development on their ranches and in their community.  See a brief video of John explaining how his peers organized themselves and recruited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a seminal study of their ground water.

(Link provided by Liz Amason)

The Senate ethics investigation into Senator Monty Pearce is over – as a bipartisan committee voted unanimously to drop a conflict-of-interest complaint.

But the hard feelings linger.

In a news release this morning, Senate Democrats complain that they were saddled with an unreasonable burden of proof. They say they were told to prove that Pearce, R-New Plymouth, would derive direct and unusual financial benefit from oil and gas leases from the process.

Committee Republicans and Democrats closed the process with an agreement that potential conflicts should be disclosed sooner in the legislative process – not on the Senate floor, before a final vote on legislation, as Pearce did last week.

Read more: Idaho Senate Democrats Decry ‘Unpleasant Ordeal’ of Pearce Ethics Process

(By Kevin Richert, The Idaho Statesman)